DEVO, The Damned, the Weirdos - Punk Rock Bowling, Las Vegas, May 25, 2013

I'm not a big fan of large, outdoor music festivals, but Melanie's birthday is coming up and she wanted to celebrate at PRB, so we made it out to this gig together. We were not up for spending the entire day here, so sorry to the opening bands, but showed up about an hour before the Weirdos were scheduled, which was good as the line to get in was so long that we got in just as they were starting! This was more than a little annoying and could have been better organized (there were only two lines going in - there easily could have been more), but once you got in, there was a good amount of room - even though it was sold out, you were not packed in like sardines - lots of port-a-potties and plenty of vendors for food, drinks and merch.

Neither of us had ever seen the Weirdos, even though I had heard and read about them even before I moved to LA, but for some reason never got to any of their gigs. They sounded damn good this night - a huge shout out to the sound man for a great job all night long and for not succumbing to the lead-bass-drum syndrome that plagues so many modern PA wranglers - although visually they were not very interesting. The guitarist did try, with an early punk-inspired outfit, though he - and the rest of the group - barely moved and the singer was dressed like a hip-hop dude. But, if you closed your eyes, they plowed through "Life of Crime" (as the opener), their Love cover, "7 & 7 Is", a Link Wray tune, "Neutron Bomb" (oddly placed in the middle of the set) and then a few songs that we were not familiar with, including the somewhat anti-climatic closer. Still, a solid outing.

The Damned has probably had a different line-up every time that I've seen them and I don't know who the rhythm section currently is, but Dave Vanian is singing (of course - and is as stylish as ever) and Captain Sensible is on guitar (also cool in his beret and striped shirt), so I guess that's all you really need! They did have a fairly unnecessary - and very spastic - keyboardist who looked a bit like Mark "The Animal" Mendoza in his Dictators days and did more bouncing around as comedy relief than actual playing. But, this simply added to the visual mayhem on stage. The band looked and sounded terrific as they tore up a greatest hits set - "Love Song", "Second Time Around", "Neat Neat Neat", "Plan 9", "Help!" (that was a surprise!), "Fan Club", "Born to Kill", "New Rose" (the best response of the night), "Anti Pope", "Stretcher Case Baby", "Ignite" (which got the people chanting along) and the superb closer "Smash It Up"! "Noise Noise Noise" would have been nice, but that's nit-picking. All-in-all, about as good as you could ask for in a Damned set - the group was supremely tight and talented and truly a fun time!

Devo is another group that neither of us had ever gotten to see, so we used this chance to rectify that. From their beginnings in the 70's they meshed art and visuals with music and they are continuing to do that to this day, on a much bigger scale. The entire backdrop was a huge video screen which was synced up exactly to what they were playing live, which was pretty impressive, and helped to hide their advancing age! They also went through several costume changes, showing off the different outfits from different eras and generally "de-evolving" from their more modern tracks (which they opened with) to earlier numbers - what we really wanted to see - such as "Jocko Homo", "Smart Patrol", "Freedom of Choice", "Gates of Steel" and their biggest hit, "Whip It". Boogie Boy made an appearance for the final number, a long version of "Beautiful World", which was actually a bit too lengthy and not rockin' enough to keep the audience, who thinned out before they concluded. Overall, fantastic visually, but we would have preferred a somewhat different set list.

Thankfully, leaving the site was much easier and convenient (they opened other exits) than getting in, so, other than a ridiculous entrance line, this was run pretty well. For me, this was the only night of interest - we'll see if the organizers can come up with good acts next year to spur more audience growth.

Again, my cell phone camera photos are kinda shite, but it gives you an idea of the feel of the show.

recommended gigs

Saturday May 25 - the Tinglerz at LV Country Saloon with the Detroit Cobras, Throw Rag & the Muffs

Wednesday May 29, Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down
Wednesday May 29 - The Lucky Cheats with Murder By Death at the Beauty Bar

Saturday June 1 - The Swamp Gospel at the Double Down

Friday June 7 - Tiger Sex at the Double Down with Dirty Panties, Quitters, Seriouslys

Friday June 14 - The Lucky Cheats, Black Jetts, Dirty Hooks, Tiger Sex - Double Down

Tuesday June 18 - Fuzz Solow and Voodoo Organist at Favorites

Friday June 21 - Tiger Sex at Artifice (David Bowie vs Stooges night - TS doing Stooges)

Wednesday June 26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Thursday June 27 - Thee Swank Bastards at Artifice

Friday June 28 - The Psyatics at the Double Down

Friday July 12 - The Psyatics with Missing Persons at the LV Country Saloon

Wednesday July 31 - Bob Log III, Black Jetts, Fuzz Solow - Dive Bar

What have I forgotten? Lemme know!

I'll add more as I hear about them! Friends - lemme know and I'll list gigs here, for what it's worth!

another one lost to cancer - RIP Trevor Bolder

The Spiders From Mars was by far Bowie's rockin'-est band and Trevor's bass lines propelled the tunes with power and melody.

I also just found out that he played with Uriah Heep & Wishbone Ash, as well.

When will science cure this horrible disease?

RIP Ray Manzarek

Per the Doors Facebook page, Ray has passed at the all too young age of 72.

Satan is Real – the Ballad of the Louvin brothers – Charlie Louvin with Benjamin Whitmer

While the Louvin Brothers were a country gospel duo whose songs regularly hit the charts (and Charlie continued to do so once he went solo), I believe they are probably best known for the extreme kitsch of their album cover for Satan is Real. I think that Charlie must understand this, as well, since he used the same image for this autobiography. This is his tale, as told to Whitmer, who transcribed his recollections and put it all together to give us this story of the heavens and hells that the two went through in order to "make it".

The chapters about their childhood are actually difficult to read because their father is described as an evil, sadistic bastard. He would beat them mercilessly for minor infractions and he would kill animals without a thought – something that he did his best to pass on to the children. They did some awful things to the animals on their farm and were responsible for killing beasts just in the name of a prank.

But they grew up with music – their father played banjo and their mother sang and taught them many traditional tunes that stayed with them. They soon decided that they didn’t want to live the life their father did – barely scraping by and working the soil from sun-up til sundown. Luckily, they did have talent and won a few contests, got a couple of radio shows and started touring, only being interrupted by spending time in the service. For the rest of their lives they made their living with music, together as the Louvin Brothers for a number of years, until Charlie got tired of Ira's drinking and went off on his own.

I think it’s funny that Charlie talks about how good Ira was at preachin’ and how well he knew the bible since he was a foul-mouthed, ill-tempered, alcoholic womanizer, but I suppose that is pretty common with the religious. Not much in the book explores the music itself – shows, recordings, writing, etc – mostly this is a collection of anecdotes about the times they spent together. Overall, he is pretty even-handed, and while he says a lot of (apparently justifiable) negative things about Ira, he is quick to praise his abilities – mandolin playing, songwriting, and vocals - which makes it appear, at least, to be a fair account of their lives.

This is an entertaining read and Charlie does come off as a sincere and good person who just wanted to make music. It is interesting to see how different the business - and the music - is these days - something that Charlie lamented, as well. Nicely done.

Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica

I know that many people - and the Captain - consider this to be his finest moment, it has never really struck a chord (so to speak) with me. It is indeed challenging and there are many elements throughout. There are recitations, acapella numbers, instrumentals without percussion and many numbers with the drums mixed so far down that you struggle to hear the disjointed beat. When he does simply let it blurt, I can dig it, but the "interruptions" to the flow - obviously done for a purpose - stifle my enjoyment.

Of course many would argue these points with me and maybe I just need to listen to this with a different attitude and "different" ears, and maybe it's just the inherent rocker in me, but this misses. Certainly not a starting point for anyone who wants to explore the Magic Band.

Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band - Safe as Milk

After submerging myself in The Mirror Man Recordings last night, I realized that this CD's bonus tracks were cuts from those sessions that would not fit on the single CD. I did a short review of this record a while back, but wanted to take another listen to these extra tunes since I enjoyed Mirror Man so much.

This debut album had almost as much anarchy as the MM sessions, but remains somewhat more commercial (as much as Beefheart's music ever is). Some of the songs have heavy blues roots, some are just great r'n'r (again, I have to highlight "Zig Zag Wanderer" and think I have to find a band to cover this) and there are plenty of hints of weirdness yet to come. Despite the unpleasantness that was involved leading up to the album (again, you can read all about it in the copious liner notes), this is a superb record and a good introduction to the Captain.

The bonus tracks are mostly instrumental, leading most people to think that they are unfinished, but there are so many changes and so much instrumental interplay that you almost forget that there are no vocals (the exceptions are "Trust Us (take 9)" and "Korn Ring Finger"). These are as powerful and interesting as the rest of Mirror Man and show just how much the Magic Band had evolved since the first record.

You can understand where Vliet was getting many of his ideas, but the way this is put together is so original and just damn groovy that you just feel like you are being immersed in his wonderful madness. 

Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band - The Mirror Man Sessions

You see - I really am listening to more than C&W, bluegrass and folk these days! Picked this up at a remarkably fine price through Amazon and you should too!

Recorded under very convoluted circumstances (you can read about it all in the liner notes) this previously unreleased collection (at least in this format) shows the Magic Band somewhat in flux (guitarist Ry Cooder had just left) but still going strong and creating terrifically far-out music. A little too far-out for their record label, who refused to release this at the time, but thankfully we can hear it now!

The first three cuts here - "Tarotplane" (clever title from the blues-lover Captain), "25th Century Quacker" and "Mirror Man" - were recorded live in the studio and sound to me like a phenomenal cross between Howlin' Wolf and the Velvet Underground, driven by the superb drumming of John French. Other musicians includes guitarists Alex Snouffer and Jeff Cotton and Jerry Handley on bass and all add to the visionary sound.

The remaining tunes are a bit more "structured" (as much as any Beefheart songs are) and include "Kandy Korn" (kinda Zappa-esque with multiple changes and plenty of vocal harmonies), "Trust Us" and "Safe as Milk" (both with great, huge guitar chords, feedback, slide and pounding drums), "Beatle Bones N' Smokin' Stones" has more cool slide work as Beefheart seemingly takes the piss out of the two biggest bands in the word (though it's kind of hard to tell in his lyrics!) while the rhythm starts and stops, "Moody Liz" includes group chants over more convoluted drumming and noisy (but great) guitar interplay - kinda like a garage band version of some of Zappa's music - and the whole she-bang closes with "Gimme Dat Harp Boy" in which CB shows off his skills and blues heritage.

You can't be afraid to be adventurous with the Captain, but to my twisted ears, this is more accessible than some of his work (though I am a huge fan) and I really love this album! Is there anyone doing anything like this these days?! I wish!

The Essential Roy Acuff 1936-1949

Roy Acuff is another early country star who influenced almost everyone who came after him. In fact, I was just reading how he directly inspired the Louvin Brothers to start their career. His work at the Grand Ole Opry and with his Acuff-Rose music publishing company catapulted many C&W stars and his importance can still be heard to this day.

In these cuts, the origins of what is now considered traditional country are revealed. Sweet, bluegrass harmonies, fiddling (Acuff's instrument) and mandolin mix with guitar licks, gospel stylings and well-written songs. Classics such as "Wabash Cannonball" and "Great Speckle Bird" are included but many of the others as at least as fine. As I've said before, my favorite country music is that which isn't afraid of its bluegrass and Americana/folk roots, and here this is all worn on the sleeves of the musicians.

This collection really provides an insight to the bridge between older, traditional, string-based bluegrass and vocal-based country music. Pretty damn great!

The Original Carter Family - Can the Circle Be Unbroken

The Carter Family is another seminal and highly influential musical entity and this gives a good indication of why! Along with Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family is credited with changing the style of early country/folk music from instrumental dance music to vocal music.

The group was made up of Alvin Pleasant (AP), his wife Sara (lead vocals - so deep that I thought it was AP until I read the liner notes - and autoharp or guitar) and her cousin Maybelle on guitar. Of course, the same name was used for many more incarnations of the family, which later included some of the youngsters, including Johnny Cash's eventual wife, June Carter. The songs, recorded in the 30's and 40's, contain some wonderful harmonies and with the fairly simple backing, really bring alive tunes that are now considered traditional classics. Many of the songs existed before the Carters recorded them, but AP was savvy enough to put his name on the song for publishing purposes. The repertoire included old British ballads, gospel numbers, early blues and old Americana, all given a new life with the Carter's arrangements.

I can guarantee that you will be familiar with a great many of these songs (the title cut, "Wildwood Flower", "Worried Man Blues", "Keep on the Sunny Side", and many more) and will be enchanted by these versions. If you cared anything for the sounds in movies like "O Brother, Where Art Thou", then you will love this record - this could essentially be that soundtrack and is the soundtrack for American folk music. This is definitely a new favorite of mine!

Bob Wills - The King of Swing

Bob Wills is considered the King of Western Swing and a man who melded many different musical genres together in the 30's and 40's to create something quite different and entertaining.

The sound is sometimes so mixed and eclectic that it is almost hard to wrap your head around what they were doing! Early country is mixed with hillbilly/bluegrass, mixed with jazz/boogie-woogie mixed with Tin Pan Alley pop! Frankly, I like it best when he stays a little more traditional with swinging bluegrass-inspired country, though it is all interesting and I do like the groundbreaking concepts that still sound odd to this day.

There's plenty of variety here, from almost barbershop quartet-sounding harmonies and super slick, commercial sounding pop, to fiddle workouts, to uptempo, early rock'n'roll rhythms that wouldn't sound out of place for Bill Hailey.

Again, I am just learning about many of these early country pioneers and my tastes may evolve as I listen more, but, while not one of my new faves, I certainly appreciate the inventiveness!

Psyatics, Child Endangerment, Tiger Sex - The (new) Dive Bar 5-17-13

Wow! What a totally fun night of terrific rock’n’roll! Favorites has now morphed into the Dive Bar, fittingly, as it is run by people who worked the old (original?) Dive Bar. I dig this space a lot - lots of room, reasonably priced drinks, a real stage, a real PA and a real sound man who actually knows what he’s doing! Hopefully, they will continue to book nights like this.

I’m sure you’re getting sick of me rantin’ about the Psyatics by now, but too bad! They opened the show this night to a fairly sparse crowd, but still showed off the power of their well-honed r’n’r machine. The new CD is represented well throughout the set and that’s a good thing cuz they’re great tunes! Guitarist Jack (described as a “beast” in an RJ review!) is loosening up on stage and moving more as he lays down his slabs of sonic psychosis while Rob does his best yelpin’ and Jimmy pounds out the rhythms. Another fab set!


I had never heard or seen Child Endangerment before and wasn’t sure what to think as three youngsters in loose-fitting t-shirts, long shorts, beards and baseball caps took the stage with some of the cheapest equipment I’ve seen in a long time - not that that’s a bad thing! But then the singer showed up, looking like a bastard child of Johnny Rotten and the cats went into a shamblin’ set of some of the loosest and fun-est punk rock I’ve seen since the early days of the Germs! They seem to barely know their songs (and they only played 5 or so) and there was a fair about of chatter in between numbers (including passing out the book “Death of a Salesman” and singing to an 80’s Playboy Playmate fold-out), but damned if it wasn’t a helluva good time! The sound is 70’s punk, with some slower, riff-based numbers and not just 1,2,3,4-1,2,3,4 punk - though some of that was mixed in - like the early punk bands did. I hope to see more of them and I hope they don’t get too “good” - cuz they’re damned good as it is!

Anyone who’s ever read this blog knows that I am a huge fan of the Tinglerz and their guitarist Kei, so I had to check out his new side project (this was their second show), Tiger Sex. In this project, Kei simply mangles his guitar while his lovely wife, Kelly, takes over the vocal chores like a raw Joan Jett or like the “little girl with a big voice” popularized in the 80’s by bands like Tex & the Horseheads. The rhythm section is dynamite and once again, Kei has a band who knows how to write real songs. They have no problem playing different tempos and are right at home with a slow, smoldering, heavy blues (that sounded like a mix of the Stooges “I Need Somebody” and the Jeff Beck Group or something!) as they are with a high energy punk rocker. Their choice of covers gives a good indication of their influences and style - “Cherry Bomb” by the Runaways and “I Wanna Be Your Dog” by the Stooges. Kei rips it up in the best Ron Ashton/Wayne Kramer style - cool riffs with plenty of noise and wah-wah and just teetering on the edge of chaos - as r’n’r always should! He really is one of my fave guitarists in town and with this excellent rhythm section and dynamic lead singer, he has an amazing new project.

Once again, Vegas proves that there is some real rock’n’roll here! Make sure you get out and see some of the great bands that we have!

recommended gigs

Thursday May 16 - Tarah Grace & the Magnetics - House of Blues
Thursday May 16, Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Friday May 17 - Tiger Sex and The Psyatics at Favorites (now the Dive Bar)

Tuesday May 21 - The Lucky Cheats at HOB courtyard for Swing Night

Saturday May 25 - the Tinglerz at LV Country Saloon with the Detroit Cobras, Throw Rag & the Muffs

Wednesday May 29, Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down
Wednesday May 29 - The Lucky Cheats with Murder By Death at the Beauty Bar

Saturday June 1 - The Swamp Gospel at the Double Down

Friday June 7 - Tiger Sex at the Double Down with Dirty Panties, Quitters, Seriouslys

Friday June 14 - The Lucky Cheats, Black Jetts, Dirty Hooks, Tiger Sex - Double Down

Tuesday June 18 - Fuzz Solow and Voodoo Organist at Favorites

Friday June 21 - Tiger Sex at Artifice (David Bowie vs Stooges night - TS doing Stooges)

Wednesday June 26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Thursday June 27 - Thee Swank Bastards at Artifice

Friday June 28 - The Psyatics at the Double Down

Friday July 12 - The Psyatics with Missing Persons at the LV Country Saloon

What have I forgotten? Lemme know!

I'll add more as I hear about them! Friends - lemme know and I'll list gigs here, for what it's worth!